Bob Silver - Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Bob Silver - Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

WE SCHOOLS IMPACT REPORT Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Prepared for Bob Silver Fall, 2019

Thank You

Dear Bob, Kim and Family

We continue to be deeply grateful for your friendship and steadfast commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders. Your championing of our 20th anniversary campaign and as Co-Chair of WE Day Manitoba has been instrumental in supporting not only the growth of our programs, but the passionate young change-makers, inspired by WE Day to take action and create change.

Through your generous support, we are empowering young people in Manitoba with the tools and resources to take action and make the world a brighter place.

To celebrate your foundational support, the following impact report highlights the incredible impacts that your generosity has had on our WE Schools and WE Day programs across Manitoba.

Bob, we cannot thank you enough for your efforts in expanding our reach and deepening our impacts across Manitoba and beyond—we are truly grateful for your leadership in creating positive change that will continue to empower lives locally and around the world.

Warmest,

Craig, Marc and the WE Team

We are pleased to share with you the incredible impact of ourWE Schools programming inManitoba over the 2018-2019 school year, delivering world-class resources for students and educators and creating transformational experiences for youth. Without your support, none of this would be possible. Thank you.

2 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Inspiring Youth in Manitoba / 3

WE Schools

In Canada

Thanks to your support, we have scaled the reach of WE Schools across Canada to support diverse youth populations in becoming leaders, change- makers and problem solvers. In the 2018-2019 school year, over 2.4 million students frommore than 7,200 school groups participated in or were impacted by WE Schools—a 3% increase in the number of schools engaged since 2017-2018, and a 32% increase since 2016-2017. In Canada during the 2018-2019 academic year, WE Schools created a total social impact value of over $97 million in support of local and global issues. These impacts were created from fundraising initiatives, youth volunteerism and local food collection. As part of our cause- inclusive programs, WE Schools groups supported over 3,800 local organizations and 900 global organizations, totaling over 4,700 unique organizations. Participating WE Schools groups contributed more than 3.4 million volunteer hours.

Our WE Schools team has been able to improve engagement with schools and has developed a host of new opportunities, creating positive outcomes for Canadian youth around academic engagement, workplace and college readiness and active citizenship. As a result of participation in WE Schools, educators in the 2018-2019 school year: 85% feel more inspired to teach and engage with students. 83% are better equipped to teach social justice issues through service-based learning. 83% are more likely to integrate local community content into their regular classroom activities and lessons. 70% are more aware of the alignment of WE Schools classroom resources with provincial expectations.

WE Schools is a year-long educational program that empowers young people to be leaders of social change, challenging them to act with intention and compassion and lead with the conviction that together we can transform communities locally and globally.

WE Schools is implemented in classrooms and after-school clubs. It is a movement of youth and educators who believe that some of the most powerful learning experiences happen when you make a meaningful difference in your communities and for the world.

4 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Inspiring Youth in Manitoba / 5

In Manitoba

WE Schools

In Manitoba during the 2018-2019 school year, there were 470 WE Schools groups , involving more than 120,000 youth and over 1,300 educators . The most frequent local issue tackled by WE Schools groups in Manitoba was hunger and the most frequent global cause supported

was ensuring access to education . To take action on these issues, the most common initiatives led by students were food drives, coin drives, class presentations to educate and inform their peers and volunteering within their communities. As part of our cause-inclusive programs, youth supported both local and global organizations through their actions. 86% of WE School groups volunteered , while 50% undertook fundraising initiatives . WE Schools groups in Manitoba supported a total of 119 local and global organizations , and more than 170,000 volunteer hours were registered.

As a result of participating in WE Schools programming...

“Students grew this year by becoming more aware of social issues, both within their own local community, as well as on a global scale. By being aware of these issues, the students were more enthusiastic to participate within our campaigns.” - Educator, Winnipeg, Manitoba 82% of educators feel that students are more likely to stand up for others that are treated unfairly because of their gender, race, religion, ability or sexual orientation 80% of educators fell that students are now more capable of effectively voicing their own opinions 77% of educators agree that students ask more critical questions to reflect on and understand issues 76% of educators are more inspired to teach and engage with students

In the 2018-2019 school year, WE Schools groups in Manitoba created a total social impact value of over $4.7 million in support of local and global issues.

This impact was generated from three major streams: fundraising initiatives, value of youth volunteerism and value of local food collection.

6 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Inspiring Youth in Manitoba / 7

Winnipeg family combines passion for service work with musical talents

Inspired by WE, Adrienne Gill and family host a coffeehouse fundraiser to support health programming in Ecuador.

Adrienne always wondered if she could match her older sisters’ knack for making a difference. Then her chance came. “My sisters are really big social justice leaders,” she says of siblings Nadia, 16, and Charlotte, 13, who have both belonged to WE clubs since middle school. Adrienne recounts dinners spent discussing her sisters’ latest projects with WE—fundraisers for those experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg, rallies for women’s rights and environmental campaigns in their school. For as long as she can remember, these issues and causes percolated through her home, forming the backdrop for family discussions. “They gave me that passion,” she explains. When she got the opportunity to join a WE club at École Viscount Alexander and attendWE Day, she jumped at the chance. That evening, she returned home energized, eager to

do something big, and her passion found fertile ground. Her mom, Jennifer, suggested putting the family’s musical talents to creative use in a coffeehouse concert. With an idea of the what firmly in place, the fivesome—by then, their father, Brady, was involved as well—set out to research the why. They turned to WE’s website to find an issue that spoke to them and quickly learned about the lack of proper health care services in rural Ecuador. In this region plagued by dirty water, inadequate medical supplies and a poor public health infrastructure, WE runs workshops for teachers, families and community leaders to identify and treat common health risks.

either side by her daughters. She laughs at the suggestion that this family focus was intentional, as Adrienne offers a meek “sorry” and blushes. “It’s been a great side benefit of their involvement, having something very specific we can work on as a family,” she says, beaming proudly at her daughters. Nadia took the stage to sing. Charlotte emceed the entire evening. Jennifer and Brady performed as part of a brass quartet. And the whole family played to the tune of the youngest Gill, who not only played violin but made sure the entire evening ran smoothly, soliciting help from her fellowWE club members and writing to local businesses for donations and prizes.

a repeat open-mic fundraiser in February, the family—led by Adrienne—have raised over $6,500 to support health programming in Ecuador. “Service is something we incorporate into our family life and I guess it’s paying off,” Jennifer explains with quintessential modesty. “The kids have made it a natural part of their life.” As for Adrienne, who’s long looked up to her sisters for their activism, she now counts herself proudly among them when it comes to creating change. “We’ve always been this close,” she says, looking from Nadia to Charlotte. “But being a part of WE as a family is something we can all share.”

“Adrienne’s coffeehouse quickly became a family affair,” says Jennifer, flanked on

Between the first coffeehouse event, a board game night, an online donation campaign and

8 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Inspiring Youth in Manitoba / 9

Stories of Inspiration

WE Day Manitoba

WE Day is a powerful, life-changing experience with world-renowned speakers and performers, mixed with real, inspirational stories of change. Students can’t buy a ticket toWE Day; they earn their way by taking local and global actions through theWESchools program. OnOctober 30th2018,WEDayManitoba brought together 16,000 students from across Manitoba, to celebrate and honor their commitment to service and creating positive change throughout the year. The full-day event featured renowned speakers, innovative thought leaders and remarkable youth who are making a positive impact. Some of this year’s inspiring guests includedMillieDavis, ChloeWilde, Tanner Zipchen, KareemAbdul-Jabbar, AdrianneHaslet, Shawn Hook and many more. Local youth speakers also took the stage to share words of inspiration about important topics that have impacted young people across Manitoba including overcoming anxiety, fighting racism and ending bullying.

The students of West Kildonan Collegiate have participated in a variety of fundraising initiatives through out the 2018-2019 school year. Through their Dream Factory Initiative, students hosted bake sales and taco- in-a bag sales to raise $1,500 for a local charity. They also raised an additional $1,800 for the Terry Fox Foundation by participating in a school-wide Terry Fox run. During the holiday season, the school hosted a “12 Days of Christmas” spirit week which challenged students tobring inadifferent non-perishable food itemduring the two-week period. With everyone’s participation, West Kildonan Collegiate collected over 3,800 food items for the Winnipeg Harvest food bank. West Kildonan Collegiate A group of students at École Van Walleghem School hosted a Mental Health Week to learn more about mental health and raise awareness around this important cause. Grade 7 and 8 students addressed their peers at assemblies, made regular announcements sharing mental health tips, provided stress reduction techniques, facilitated activities and played informative videos about wellness and meditation. Armed with the knowledge they gained through this initiative, students sold fidget toys at their school as a way for students tomanage and relieve stress. Through their efforts, they were able to raise over $900 in support the Canadian Mental Health Association in Winnipeg. École Van Walleghem School

10 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Inspiring Youth in Manitoba / 11

Scaling Our Impact

WE Well-being

WE is proud to be launching WE Social Entrepreneurs (WE SE), Canada’s first centre for innovative social enterprises for young people under the age of 35. WE Social Entrepreneurs

WE Well-being is equipping people of all ages with the tools they need to foster social, emotional, physical and mental well-being.

When asked about their first year in WE Well-being... 88% of educators said their participation has benefited them professionally. 85% of educators said their experience was positive or very positive. 80% of educators said they personally used the things they learned through the program to support their own well-being.

We have successfully completed stage one of the WE Well- being pilot. The pilot was developed in collaboration with leading experts and world-renowned organizations to bring the cutting-edge science of well-being into classrooms across Canada and the United States. The WE Well-being pilot involved over 250 educators and impacted more than 7,000 students. The inaugural programwas developed for students in grades 4-6. Modules focused on unpacking social and emotional learning, mental health literacy and the brain science behind mental health research. Educators identified increased empathy, self-awareness, leadership and improved self-image and confidence as the top areas of growth for their students participating in the pilot. One key takeaway was that 88% of educators requested access to resources online, which has allowed us to leverage technology to scale professional learning. With the successful completion of this pilot, we look forward to introducing the program to schools across Baltimore.

WE SE will support young leaders as they launch and scale social enterprises that apply business solutions to society’s greatest social challenges. The Centre will bring to life two streams of programming, WE Incubate and WE Scale-Up, which will provide young Canadians with the tools to merge charity and business to create a sustainable impact. WE Incubate We will inspire a national movement of young social entrepreneurs by leveraging the WE Schools network of 7,000 Canadian schools,

colleges and universities to provide curriculum, resources, mentorship and connections in the sector to launch micro-social enterprises. WE Scale-Up Through rigorous vetting, select young people from the “WE Incubate” program will be invited into a multi-year deep incubation and acceleration program to help launch their initiatives at scale. This program will include business shared services support and social impact support.

12 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

13 / Inspiring Youth in Manitoba

Together We Can Change the World

Thank you for your support of WE Schools in Manitoba! Together, we are inspiring local youth to take action on issues they are passionate about andempowering themtomake a difference inour communities.

For more information, please contact: Alistair Ford

WE Global Learning Center 339 Queen Street East Toronto, ON Canada M5A 1S9

E:[email protected] P:1.416.925.5894 x1826